stance

noun

ˈstan(t)s 

1

chiefly Scotland

a

: station

b

: site

2

a

: a way of standing or being placed : posture

b

: intellectual or emotional attitude

took an antiwar stance

3

a

: the position of the feet of a golfer or batter preparatory to making a swing

b

: the position of both body and feet from which an athlete starts or operates

Synonyms of stance

• posture
• attitude

Examples of stance in a Sentence

a slightly aggressive stance

Recent Examples on the Web

What’s your stance on whether movies should be political and talent having to answer on geopolitics at film festivals? — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 2 July 2026

Consumers fled from the company as Musk took more public political stances, such as backing German far-right party AfD prior to the German elections. — Zachary Folk, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

But several others took a more critical stance, instead likening his actions to market manipulation. — Alex Harring,luke Fountain, CNBC, 2 July 2026

But Alito’s stance against birthright citizenship goes beyond just forgetting his roots. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English stance, staunce, from Middle French estance position, posture, stay, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *stantia, from Latin stant-, stans, present participle of stare to stand

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing stance

• closed stance
• open stance

Rhymes for stance

• chance
• dance
• glance
• hance
• hanse
• lance
• manse
• prance
• trance
• advance
• askance
• enhance

Kids Definition

stance

noun

ˈstan(t)s 

1

: a way of standing or being placed : posture

a soldier with an erect stance

2

: a way of thinking or feeling

took an opposing stance on the issue